ADA: Upgraded charges expected in fatal crash
Michael Grasing, 31, is led out of Third Precinct in Bay Shore for arraignment. Grasing was arrested Sunday on suspicion of DWI after he crashed into a car in Lindenhurst, killing Brittney Walsh, 18, police said. (June 27, 2012) Credit: James Carbone, handout
A Babylon man had a blood-alcohol level nearly four times the legal limit when his speeding car rear-ended a vehicle, killing a Lindenhurst teen, authorities said Wednesday.
Minutes before the fatal Sunday night crash, another driver yelled at Michael Grasing, 31, to "stop driving before he kills someone," Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.
The recent high school graduate had gotten off work at Kmart and was headed home on Montauk Highway in Lindenhurst.
Judge Patricia Filiberto set bail at $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond at Grasing's arraignment Wednesday in First District Court in Central Islip. He pleaded not guilty to driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor.
Assistant District Attorney Laura Newcomb said upgraded charges are expected to be filed as new evidence is developed.
Witnesses told investigators that Grasing was driving at speeds of up to 80 to 100 mph before slamming into Walsh's sport utility vehicle and made no attempt to stop, Spota said.
A blood sample taken 11/2 hours after the crash showed Grasing had a 0.30 percent blood-alcohol level, Spota said. The legal limit is 0.08 percent.
Grasing was charged with DWI in upstate Albany County in 1999, and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving while impaired, officials said.
Newcombe said in court that Grasing has been "in and out of rehab, and he's gone on benders where he's disappeared for days."
Defense attorney William Keahon disputed that assertion. He said Grasing has worked as a contractor for 10 years with his father.
The defendant has a 3-year-old daughter and lives with his wife, Keahon said.
"The prosecution thinks they have a strong case. I do not," Keahon said in court.
The attorney said afterward that Grasing's family is "devastated at the death of a young girl."
Officials are asking anyone who may have seen Grasing's vehicle or the crash to call police at 631-854-8152.
Her social studies teacher, Peter Casale, 42, of Lake Ronkonkoma, went to her wake Wednesday at Claude R. Boyd/Spencer Funeral Home in Babylon.
"Any father would be lucky to have her as a daughter. Any teacher would be lucky to have her as a student," Casale said.
Liz Gusmano, 46, of Copiague, who also attended the wake, said her son Rocco, 17, graduated with Walsh.
"We hugged her on Friday, and we have to bury her this Friday," Gusmano said. "My son is angry. The feeling I'm getting from everybody is that everybody's very angry. It's senseless."
Walsh was also remembered for her efforts to keep alive the memory of her best friend and classmate, Christopher Urban, who died in October 2010 from a congenital brain condition.
With Joseph Mallia,
John Valenti, William Murphy and Nathaniel Herz
'If you don't address demand, you don't address the problem' Police are only addressing the supply, but demand is what fuels the illicit sex trade, experts say. Newsday political reporter Bahar Ostadan has the story.
'If you don't address demand, you don't address the problem' Police are only addressing the supply, but demand is what fuels the illicit sex trade, experts say. Newsday political reporter Bahar Ostadan has the story.
